The resolution of the debt-ceiling debacle is barely a memory and Republicans have already taken the next hostage—the new Super Congress gang of 12 that will be selected to determine our collective economic fates. The optics of this are already looking bad for Democrats, with
Republicans being obstructionist but committed, and Democrats responsible but weak. In other words, they'll keep negotiating with the terrorists.
If it were just optics, no big deal. But it's not. It's the nation's economic future at stake here, including the future of the nation's most vulnerable citizens. And it's not entirely clear that that reality has sunk in for Democrats, still. Here's Greg Sargent, writing about the frustrating way Democrats are approaching this:
Apparently this disparity has left Harry Reid, the creator of the super-committtee, very frustrated and angry, according to this amazing nugget buried in a Politico piece:
Reid is already upset that Republican leaders have declared that they will not appoint anyone to the joint committee who backs any tax hike, a virtual replay of the spending cuts vs. new tax revenues fight that consumed Washington for the past several months.
"So what does that leave the committee to do?" Reid said. "Should Pelosi and I just not appoint and walk away?"
Well, one thing Dem leaders might do is ... to lay down firm markers of their own. After all, Reid seems to appreciate the fact that the same dynamic that led to a debt deal lopsided in favor of spending cuts is already playing out again. So why not try to change that dynamic? [...]
But literally two days have passed since Obama signed the debt ceiling deal creating the super-committee, and the debate over it is already carrying echoes of the last one, in which Dems were confident they would win if they occupied some sort of reasonable middle ground while painting the GOP as uncompromising and ideologically rigid.
Indeed, Nancy Pelosi told new media reporters today that if Republicans "want to draw lines in the sand" they will "look like the obstructionists."
"You won't see me drawing lines in the sand," Pelosi continued.
Here's a clue: Republicans don't care if they act like or look like obstructionists. They care about results, and so far, this has been working for them. Witness the election of 2010, or Boehner's getting 98% of what he wanted in the debt ceiling debacle. Yes, Democrats could get some brownie points and maybe even a few electoral points by appearing reasonable. But at what cost?
It's absolutely time for some lines in the sand, but that doesn't just go for Pelosi and Reid. President Obama has the big club in this fight, if he'll use it. It's called the veto pen. At this point, a threat to veto any plan that does not include real tax increases on the wealthy and protection of social insurance benefits would be in order. As would an actual veto of a plan that didn't include those things, but that's (undoubtedly) a future fight.